1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of toilet flush devices and more specifically relates to a foot-activated toilet flushing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Urinals and toilets are in use in most of the modem world in homes and public rest rooms. A flush toilet is a toilet that disposes of human liquid and solid waste, by using water to flush it through a drainpipe to another location for disposal. The nature of these modern water using devices is that most have a hand actuated flush lever, button, or switch. Hand flush devices have been in limited use since the 1880's in the United States, but by the 1890's, there was a much greater awareness of disease and the flush toilet started becoming more common. Since that time, the design of toilets have changed somewhat, but the hand flushing mechanism still remains virtually the same.
Public rest rooms and residential bathrooms are the number one source for bacteria, viruses, and fungus, and also the most likely place for an individual to come into contact with them. These pathogens can be of a nearly unlimited variety and can originate from nearly anywhere in the world due to modern travel availability. The awareness of disease began the upward trend in the use of toilets, or “water closets” post 1890, but that is where the remedy for the problem seems to have halted. The hands are the medium in which restroom originated diseases are spread, but the awareness of this fact has not caught traction with the investors, manufacturers, and engineers. The redesigning and manufacturing of a new innovative toilet could be very expensive, and the increase in cost may not catch on with the general public. The public is slow to accept major changes that include price hikes, and this could be a problem for investors. A solution that would safely and inexpensively allow an individual to flush hands-free would go a considerable distance toward reducing the spread of bathroom bacteria, viruses, and fungus, and would be a welcome innovation.
Various attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problems such as those found in U.S. Pub. No. 7,975,322 to Allison Heller, U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,925 to S. Kamal Salibi, U.S. Pat. No. D529579 to Arturo Villalobos Lopez, U.S. Pat. No. 8,266,730 to Tom L. Ricca, U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,552 to Fang-Hsiung Chang, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,536,294 to Rodriguez Jose Pelaez. This art is representative of foot operated flushing devices. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed.
Ideally, a foot operated flushing device should provide low cost and convenience of installation, and yet, would operate reliably and be manufactured at a modest expense. Thus, a need exists for a reliable foot-activated toilet flushing system to avoid the above-mentioned problems.